One of two bodies found decomposing inside a home in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, on Monday has been identified as the town’s former mayor Susan Menard, who lived at the property, authorities said Wednesday.
The second body had not yet been identified and the determination of what caused both deaths is still pending, the Office of State Medical Examiners said in a statement.
Menard was 73, according to public records. She had lived with her longtime boyfriend, who was also in his 70s and, like her, had health problems, the Boston Globe reported.
A concerned neighbor called police to the home Monday afternoon after noticing a foul smell and realizing that he hadn’t seen anyone at the house in a couple of weeks, local station WPRI reported.
Officers reportedly entered the home through a rear window and found the bodies in separate rooms. Woonsocket Police Chief Thomas Oates told HuffPost on Tuesday that no foul play was suspected but that an investigation remained ongoing.
Menard was Woonsocket’s first female mayor and its longest-serving, holding office from 1995 until 2009, according to the city’s website.
People left candles, flowers and stuffed animals on the home’s steps on Wednesday. A black cloth was also placed over Menard’s portrait inside Woonsocket City Hall, WJAR reported.
“She was a very strong woman,” her son-in-law, Jim Pilavin, told the Globe. “She had a strong intellect. She was a devoted mother to her children, devoted grandmother to her grandchildren.”
Menard’s brother, Robert Miller, died on Saturday at age 81, according to an online obituary. His funeral was scheduled for this Thursday.
